Holden's get DoD, Turbo Diesel, and Hybrid in development

Attending the meeting was General Motors Group vice president Nick Reilly, who commented that "We will introduce hybrids in the next couple of years."

When pressed on whether the development of a new hybrid by GM and Holden could be in the form of a Commodore, GM's VP answered, "That could be one of the first hybrids you could see. I would put a time frame on that of probably a couple of years."

There is now an increasing body of evidence that points to a Holden Commodore hybrid rather than a European or Asian-made hybrid (based on a small car) arriving in the next few years.

Large cars used to be the dominant species in the Australian car market, but as petrol prices rise to painfully high levels - and don't look like ever returning - and drivers put more emphasis on their carbon footprint, large car sales are slumping.

If Holden began selling a large car that was powered by a hybrid engine that had 'green' credentials and also reduced the fuel bill, it could potentially reignite Australia's passion with the large car.

Lower fuel bills and less CO2 emissions would also make the vehicle more appealing to fleet buyers, who are increasingly having to account for carbon output in their vehicle fleets.

Mr Reilly hinted that a time frame for such a vehicle would be "probably a couple of years," and because Holden has access to various hybrid powertrains from American GM models, which already consist of several hybrid SUVs and a handful of mid-sized cars, we could see a hybrid Holden Commodore by 2010 or 2011.

Some of the other 'possibilities' emerging from the GM Holden meeting included a diesel-powered Commodore, which is firmly on the car maker's radar and would be a perfect fit for the new Holden Sportwagon.

There was even some hushed talk about a 4-cylinder Commodore, but whether this model being considered could be powered by a turbo diesel or a turbo petrol 4-cylinder engine is not yet clear.

While Holden does offer an LPG-powered Commodore, fuel savings are relatively low as gas prices rise and LPG delivers less mileage than petrol or diesel.

GM Holden will also introduce a new cylinder deactivation system on next generation 6.0-litre V8 models. The Series II VE Commodore is expected to benefit from V8 engines that can shut down some cylinders at cruising speeds, reducing fuel burn and hence lowering fuel consumption.
What is clear is that Holden is putting a lot of capital behind the Commodore to develop more efficient models to ensure it doesn't die out like the Mitsubishi 380 in today's global climate of high oil prices.